Womanly Burdens
by whoskylie
Summary: Yeah, being a woman is tough. Being a woman in Corporal Levi's Special Ops Squad is even tougher. Correction: Being the only woman in the Special Ops Squad is even tougher. And eventually, Petra has to speak up.


Disclaimer: All of the characters belong to Hajime Isayama

* * *

Being a woman is tough.

Physically: Ovulation, menstruation, bloating, cramps, fatigue, sore breasts, getting pregnant, childbirth, breastfeeding, menopause.

Emotionally: PMS, irritation, occasional mood swings, uncontrollable crying, inexplicable fury.

Socially: Having to be modest, chaste, cute, happy. Having to put up with suggestive and downright sexist remarks about your breasts, ass, legs, weight, hair, makeup, and clothes. And if you don't live up to some unwritten standards, your entire femininity is questioned.

Yeah, being a woman is tough.

Being a woman in Corporal Levi's Special Ops Squad is even tougher.

Correction: Being _the only woman_ in the Special Ops Squad is even tougher.

Petra Ral knew it would be tough. It was an elite squad put together by humanity's strongest soldier, after all. With that in her mind, she was able to hold her patience for an impressively long time.

But, eventually, her patience snapped.

* * *

"Shut the hell up," Petra slammed the cup of coffee down on the table in front of Auruo. The sepia liquid splashed over the edges of the cup and pooled on the table.

"What?" Auruo asked, his mouth agape.

"I said, shut the hell up. I am a soldier, not a piece of meat. Stop making suggestive comments about my body."

All talking in the room had ceased to listen to the outburst. All five members of the Special Ops Squad were hushed. Even Corporal Levi held himself from ordering someone to clean up the spilled coffee.

Auruo was getting defensive. "There's no need for you to get all pissy. What, has Aunt Flow come knocking this week?"

"Yeah, actually, she has," Petra decided to be completely honest. "My entire body aches, I have a horrible migraine, and I'm pumped full of hormones. But it's not the hormones that are making me _'pissy'_, it's you."

"Petra, maybe you should calm down," Erd gently murmured.

Ignoring his suggestion, Petra stormed out of the kitchen. She stopped at the doorway. She had one more piece of womanly wisdom to impart on her male comrades.

"Oh, and by the way, you probably think I'm only saying this because I'm on my period. That may be true, but I sure_ think _it every damn day."

Petra strode down the hallway, yanked open the door, then froze before closing it gently. She refused to slam the door to her room like some emotional teenager. She tore off her jacket, kicked off her boots, and laid on her bed. Laying an arm over her eyes, she sorely wished she could go to sleep. Her back was in constant throbbing pain and her lower abdomen was screaming.

Oh, and by the way, a man surely must have been the one to design these uniforms. No woman would issue white pants to be worn 24/7.

Three sharp knocks on her door pulled Petra out of her thoughts. She groaned. Why couldn't she be alone for just ten minutes?

"Come in, if you must." She lifted her arm to see the corporal enter her room. She began to sit up, but stopped when he lifted a hand.

"I'm sorry, corporal," she muttered.

"Don't lie to me." He took a seat at the foot of her bed. "Auruo was being quite an ass. I'll have a talk with him after he picks his jaw back off the floor. I'll have a talk with the whole squad, actually."

"Thank you, I really appreciate it."

"It's not a problem." He squirmed uncomfortably and looked at the floor. "I must admit, I never fully considered how being the only woman on this squad would affect you."

"It's really not that bad, corporal. I wouldn't have accepted the position if I didn't think I could handle it."

"Is there anything else I can do?"

"Could you maybe call Hanji in for a visit? My back is killing me and I'd like something to ease the pain."

"Does it really hurt that bad?"

Petra nodded.

"Then flip over."

"W-what?"

"Flip over. You don't need any of Hanji's toxic concoctions. Now flip over to your stomach before I have to do it for you."

Still disconcerted, Petra obeyed. Levi swung one leg over her to get to a better position. He couldn't really be planning to do what she hoped he would.

Petra shivered as his skilled hands gently untucked her shirt and bunched it beneath her arms.

"Where does it hurt?"

"My lower back."

He began to gently knead her skin. Petra sighed as his callused palms sought out her knots and worked them loose. His hands moved rhythmically over her skin and dug deep into her muscles. He curled his fingers around her waist and used his thumbs to massage away the pain. She slowly relaxed and settled into a pool of pleasure. This is what her body had been craving.

By the time he was finished, Petra felt refreshed and was halfway lost to sleep. Levi gently got off the bed and laid a hand over her soft blonde locks.

"Thank you, Levi," Petra purred.

He chuckled and softly clicked the door shut behind him.

His face darkened.

Now it was time to give his squad a nice long talk concerning the proper treatment of women.

* * *

**A/N: I'm not gonna lie, the idea for this story definitely came to me when I was huddled in my bed on my period with my back just downright aching. It also led me to think about how Petra probably catches a lot of shit for being the only woman on the squad. I don't think Auruo intentionally tries to rip on her, I think it just comes naturally for him to tease her and sometimes it goes too far. I definitely know that when I'm on my period and I comment on something annoying, it isn't annoying just in that moment. Its annoying no matter what part of my cycle I'm in, it's just that on my period I've got too much shit going on to continue being silent and complacent. **

**Thanks for reading!**


End file.
